I’m not a morning person! I admit that I struggle for the first couple of hours of the day but being a Virtual Assistant means I’m lucky enough to work from home and schedule work in to fit around my peak times. We’re all different and our productivity levels peak at different times during the day (& night) yet the majority of us end up working against our body clock, struggling to be productive at the wrong time.
If your working day isn’t flexible enough and you have to work during “off peak” times, how can you maintain the same level of productivity that you have during your peak time? Listed below are a few tips to get you started:-
SLEEP First things first, make sure you get adequate sleep, again everyone is different – some people can manage on just 5 hours, others prefer 7-8. I know if I have less than 7 then I’m like a tetchy two year old 😉 However many hours you know you need to wake up feeling refreshed, make sure you get that amount!
DRINK Wipe the smile off your face I’m not talking about alcoholic drink! I’m talking about water! Drink plenty of water throughout the day & keep yourself hydrated.
EAT Try to eat little and often to keep your energy levels up – it’s no good not having breakfast then having a huge lunch to make up for it. How many times have you gone out for lunch, eaten more than usual then just want to curl up & sleep? Little and often is the key!
BREAK Taking regular breaks will help you to re-focus. Try taking a 10 minute break every hour – it may sound like you’ll get nothing done as all you’re doing is having breaks, but you’ll be surprised at how productive you’ll be.
EXERCISE I admit this is one area that I struggle with – I’m nice and warm in my office and the thought of going for a walk or doing any form of exercise fills me with discontent! However, going for a brisk walk during the day will refresh you and you’ll be more focused when you return. I’ve now started going for a 20 minute walk in the morning before I start my work and it’s amazing how much more energised I feel afterwards (especially as I’m not a morning person!)
The above tips cover how to help keep productivity levels up throughout the day, but is there a specific day that you find yourself more productive than others? Join my discussion on Facebook & let me know.